I have completed my first 50 miler. I ran the Pony Express 50 miler. This was a free race put on by local ultra runner Dacy Crockett. The were no aid stations, so each runner had to supply there one crew car to support them while they ran. I ran the race with Craig Lloyd (Jun). His mom crewed for both of us. She was awesome. We had her stop every 4 miles so that we could refuel and fill our water bottles. After the first eight miles we walked leaving the car for about five minutes before starting up again. We felt strong during those early miles, but walked so that we could make it through to the end. Our time at the half marathon mark was 2 something. I forgot to look at my watch at 13.1, so I didn't get the exact time. We averaged about 9 min miles (while running) for the first 25 miles. We hit the marathon mark at 4:40. During the second half of the race Craig's IT band was giving him lots of trouble. We started walking for part of every mile so that he could stretch it out. We would run .75 and walk for .25. This helped him ease the pain, but he still struggled with almost every step. We stayed together and the walking was helping me too, since my muscles and joints were getting pretty worn out. It was good to stay together to keep each other motivated. At mile 40 Craig was able to find a rhythm that minimized his knee pain. After that we made very short stops at the vehicle and made up some lost time. The finish line was just a point on the road where they had put a Slow Children at Play sign. We crossed the line together and tied for second place with a time of 10:42:49. First place went to Phil Lowry who had come in at 9:30:30, over an hour before us. This was a very fun race and I am excited that I was able to complete it. I didn't have any major troubles during the run. Just kept plugging along. I did get a nasty sunburn though. I had put on sunblock, but not very well. The were some spots I missed and I have streaks of red on my arms and legs. It's Saturday morning now, and my sunburn feels worse than my muscles. Note for next time: Apply sunblock better. I also got to meet some awesome bloggers. Smooth and Leslie.
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